I wasn't particularly planning to continue on the culture war beat, but then, I wasn't expecting Orion Magazine to publish exactly the type of article of which I'd like to see more. In "One Nation Under Elvis," author and environmentalist Rebecca Solnit uses music -- specifically country music -- as a jumping off point to examine the cultural and class markers that divide a movement from itself.
It's become a bit trite to say that climate change isn't (or shouldn't be) a left-right issue. But political coalitions in the U.S. really did once look quite different than they do now. In the '30s, the progressive movement "saw farmers, loggers, fisheries workers, and miners as its central constituency along with longshoremen and factory workers." According to Solnit, this constituency frayed in the postwar period, and blasted apart in the 1960s:
It was undermined by the culture clash that came out of the civil rights movement. By the 1980s, when I was old enough to start paying attention, the divide was pretty wide. And environmentalists were typically found on one side.
Read the whole article. These sorts of cultural considerations turn on nuances that won't come through in any summary I could cough up. But I will say a few more words on why I think this topic is important.
A possible political realignment is underway, spurred in large part by the fact that anti-environmentalists (for lack of a better term) have badly botched climate change mitigation. The rewards will be great for whoever is smart enough to grab them. But making the most of the opportunity requires seeing beyond some of the narrow frameworks that have shaped the debate to date. Please note that I'm not talking about "framing," the overplayed notion that if we start using better words to refer to a given set of policies, opposition to those policies will magically melt away. I'm talking about actually reaching out to -- and considering the interests of -- constituencies outside the environmental mainstream. Solnit puts it best in her conclusion:
It would mean giving up vindication for victory -- that is, giving up on triumphing over the wickedness of one's enemies and looking at them as unrecruited allies instead. It might mean giving up on the environmental movement as a separate sector and thinking more holistically about what we want to protect and why, including people, places, traditions, and processes outside the wilderness ... This is the back road down which lie stronger coalitions, genuine justice, a healthier environment, and maybe even a music that everyone can dance to.
Postscript: from comments to the Orion article, I learn that Willie Nelson is a Dennis Kucinich supporter. Wacky.
Friday music blogging: Here We Go Magic
Comments
View as Threaded
Erik Hoffner Posted 7:22 am
18 Mar 2008
James McMurtry is one quasi-country singer I think Gristmillers ought to check out if unfamiliar. True, he's a liberal from Austin and does write occasional songs like one, but most of his tunes hove to a rare middle america point of view. 'No more Buffalo' '60 Acres' and 'Choctaw Bingo' come to mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMd04FVyVRg
Erik
The Orion Grassroots Network: 1,200+ grassroots groups working for conservation & more
Permalink
willa Posted 1:48 pm
18 Mar 2008
It's just the "front of the house" part of the industry that's on the other side, and I think they are largely responsible for the fact that so many country music lovers think we are against everything they stand for. When it comes right down to it, the Americana singers and songwriters are obviously plugged into the needs of the country audience (or they couldn't keep writing well-received songs for them), but the audience is being sold a very different (and unnecessary) spin.
It just isn't true that you can't be a green redneck. And I say all this as someone who won a big ol' belt buckle with my name (and my horse's name) engraved on it as a kid in 4-H.
Permalink
amazingdrx Posted 2:21 pm
18 Mar 2008
Real country music. No culture war. He's anti-bushwar. Just check out Merle's politics. Then call him a "dirty hippy", to his face. Hehey.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
Permalink
Pompey Road Posted 10:19 pm
18 Mar 2008
Well just blow up a mountain
Blow up a hill
Do a big ol valley fill
Don't do no tally
Don't figure up the cost
Don't take no heed
Of what we just lost
Fire on the mountain
Fire in the hole
Blow up a mountain
Got to get that coal
Don't look back
Don't look closer
Push it over the hill
With a big ol Dozer
Well just blow up a mountain
Then we'll rally
Take a big ol Dozer
And push it in a valley
We ain't foolish
We ain't mean
Just kinda selfish
And we don't like green
Flat land, flat land we can't stop
Got to blow off a mountain top
Take a big ol dozer push it over the hill
That's what we call a valley fill
We'll keep pushin till we run out of steam
Cover up a valley cover up a stream
We don't care about our young un's
Lite the fuse, keep the dozer runnin
Who needs a mountain, who needs a hill
All we need is the dollar bill
We blow up a mountain just to get that coal
We sold our mineral and we sold our soul
Grab green back dollars till we get our fill
Don't need a mountain don't need a hill.
Well go tell uncle Bill and old aunt Sally
Got to move were gonna fill your valley
Well I guess you think it's all insane
Why we blow up your domain
You think its silly, you think its sad
But the money's all good if the water's all bad
We just don't need your approval
To do a mountain top removal
We'll keep fill'n till the valley's all gone
Blow up the mountains then we'll move on
We'll it don't take no concentration
That's what we do, a coal corporation
The eons of time and nature was good to us down here. It was not until we become civilized that destroying our habitat become fathomable or fashionable.
Permalink
redwing Posted 1:25 am
19 Mar 2008
Permalink
amazingdrx Posted 1:36 am
19 Mar 2008
Here's the latest 600 hp version, neeehaaaww!!
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/10/20/biodiesel-turbine ...
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
Permalink
amazingdrx Posted 1:45 am
19 Mar 2008
Look for a "Sqidbillies" green episode real soon featuring this vehicle.
http://www.adultswim.com/shows/squidbillies/
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
Permalink